The Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the final forfeiture of 48 properties valued at about N212 billion linked to former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, handing a major victory to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Justice Joyce Abdulmalik granted the EFCC’s application for the permanent forfeiture of the assets, ruling that the anti-graft agency had established sufficient grounds for the properties to be forfeited to the Federal Government.
The judge dismissed objections filed by Malami, members of his family and several companies claiming ownership of the properties, describing their applications as lacking merit.
Delivering judgment, Justice Abdulmalik held that the central issue before the court was not the identity of the property owners but the legitimacy of the funds used to acquire the assets.
“The issue before the court is not who owns the property, but how legitimate are the funds used to acquire the properties,” the judge ruled.
The forfeited assets are spread across Abuja, Kebbi, Kano and Kaduna States and include luxury hotels, residential estates, duplexes, shopping plazas, warehouses, schools, commercial buildings and vast parcels of land.
Among the most valuable properties are the Rayhaan University permanent site valued at N56 billion, the university’s temporary and third campuses, the Meethaq Hotels in Maitama and Jabi, Abuja, Zeennoor Hotel in Kano, the Azbir Hotel in Kebbi, as well as several high-end residential properties in Maitama, Asokoro, Gwarimpa and Wuse.
Other forfeited assets include factories, agro-allied facilities, filling stations, schools, radio stations, shopping units, warehouses and hundreds of hectares of land in Kebbi State.
The properties were initially seized through an interim forfeiture order obtained by the EFCC pending the determination of the case.
Following the latest judgment, 48 of the 57 properties listed by the commission have now been permanently forfeited to the Federal Government.
The ruling also means that the Federal Government will take possession of several businesses and institutions linked to the assets, including hotels, educational facilities, commercial developments and industrial projects spread across multiple states.
The EFCC had argued that the properties were acquired with funds whose sources could not be legitimately explained, a position the court upheld after reviewing the evidence presented.
The judgment marks one of the largest single asset forfeiture orders in Nigeria’s history in terms of value, with the assets estimated at N212 billion.
